Woodbine Mohawk Park has completed its first full winter of live racing operation with wagering up 7.2 per cent during the first quarter of 2019.
A total of 45 cards of racing during the months of January, February and March produced $75,442,150 in ‘all-sources’ handle. The 7.2 per cent increase over the same period in 2018 has come despite three less cards of racing being contested.
“We are extremely pleased with the wagering numbers to start this calendar year,” said Woodbine Mohawk Park President Jessica Buckley. “This was our first winter at ‘Mohawk Park’ and it proved successful with horseplayers recognizing our world class racing product.
“We believe this momentum will carry throughout this important year, which includes the upcoming Pepsi North America Cup and the Breeders Crown in October.”
The average per-race handle for the first-quarter of 2019 was $163,294.70, up 10.7 per cent from 2018.
Highlights over the first quarter include a record $2.8 million wagered on a Jackpot Hi-5 mandatory payout, the launch of the ‘Can-Am Pick 4’ and several $100,000-plus Pick 5 pools.
Live racing continues every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Post time for each card is 7:10 p.m.
(Woodbine Mohawk Park)
While this article is great
While this article is great to see, there’s no real direct comment with respect to how the increased handle was achieved. Credit appears to be given to the change in venue but no mention to the addition of increased exposure to the California market. I would be interested to see how wagering changed on a direct market for market basis with the switch from Woodbine to Mohawk. If those numbers increased, great, if they didn’t should we as a group look more closely as to why? I also wonder how the changes to the simulcast exposure has influenced Flamboro and Western Fair’s handle. Are they up as well? If so, perhaps the open minded people of Ontario Racing would want to reconsider the changes to the HIP program that were made before allowing these changes to manifest themselves.